Cherry blossoms and red beans

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Movie
German title Cherry blossoms and red beans
Original title あ ん , An
Country of production Japan ,
France ,
Germany
original language Japanese
Publishing year 2015
length 109 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director Naomi Kawase
script Naomi Kawase
production Masamichi Sawada ,
Thanassis Karathanos ,
Kōichirō Fukushima ,
Yoshito Ōyama
music David Hadjadj
camera Shigeki Akiyama
cut Tina Baz
occupation

Cherry blossoms and red beans ( Japanese あ ん , An , German " bean paste ") is a Japanese film by Naomi Kawase from 2015, based on the novel by Durian Sukegawa . It premiered as the opening film in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and ran at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival in the Contemporary World Cinema section. The cinema release in Germany was on December 31, 2015.

action

Sentaro is released from prison and returns to his small takeaway in Tokyo selling Dorayaki pancakes filled with sweet red bean paste . One day old lady Tokue is standing in front of his shop and spontaneously applies for the temporary job advertised. At first he refused her several times, but was finally so enthusiastic about a taste of her homemade bean paste that he stopped her. Until now, Sentaro had obtained the paste in plastic buckets from the wholesale market.

The news of the new delicacy quickly makes the rounds, whereupon customers queue up. A special friendship develops between Sentaro and Tokue. However, there is a persistent rumor that Tokue was once ill with leprosy . As the fear of this disease is still omnipresent in Japan and people with leprosy are avoided, one day the customers stay away. (The background is the Japanese Leprosy Prevention Act , which was in force from 1953 to 1996 and made compulsory placement in closed institutions possible.)

Wakana, a school girl who regularly stops by Sentaro's diner and has befriended Tokue, suggests visiting her at the leprosy sanatorium. Tokue has lived there since she was forcibly interned as a young woman. Sentaro feels guilty about failing to protect Tokue from the prejudices of the clientele, but she replies that she really enjoyed her time with him in the business.

A few months later dies Tokue at a pneumonia . She leaves Sentaro her equipment for making the bean paste and an audio cassette , which she discussed with a message for Sentaro and Wakana. In this message, Tokue makes it clear that a person's worth lies not in their career, but rather in their existence and the ability to perceive the beauty of the world around us.

The last shot of the film shows Sentaro setting up a simple Dorayaki stand in a park in order to be self-employed. Before Tokue's death he had written her a letter telling her why he, who doesn't like sweets at all, works in a Dorayaki joint. He injured an opponent in a bar fight and was sentenced to imprisonment and heavy compensation. To settle it, he had to take out a loan, which he wanted to repay by working in the loan shark's diner. By becoming self-employed, Sentaro can continue to meet his financial obligations, but live and work freely according to his own ideas.

criticism

The film service judges that the film is a "touching-moving drama that gives the preparation of food a mythical meaning, in which knowledge, experience and the art of giving things their time come together". With the "dramatic emphasis on the fate of the old woman, the film pleads for more respect and consideration in Japanese society".

Awards

The film won, among other things, the audience award at the film festivals in Cork and São Paulo as well as a Hochi Film Award for best actress (Kirin Kiki). At the Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid , Kawase was named the best female director. At the International Film Festival Valletta, the film received awards for best film and for best actress.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Approval certificate for cherry blossoms and red beans . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2015 (PDF; test number: 156 171 K).
  2. ^ Complement to the Official Selection . In: Cannes Film Festival . April 23, 2015. Accessed April 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ Screenings Guide . In: Festival de Cannes . May 6, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved on May 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ Sandra Bullock's 'Our Brand Is Crisis,' Robert Redford's 'Truth' to Premiere at Toronto . In: Variety . Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ Release Info. Internet Movie Database , accessed January 1, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Michael Ranze: Cherry blossoms and red beans. Filmdienst , 26/2015, accessed on January 1, 2016 (short review ).
  7. ↑ Awards. Internet Movie Database, accessed January 1, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Cherry blossoms and red beans. In: filmportal.de. German Film Institute , accessed on February 1, 2016 .